Paper machinery



n- 1954 H. D. HYMAN EI'AL 2,667,106

PAPER MACHINERY Filed Sept. 13, 1951 R N w mm m M N Y .N wsfl H R RE V 0 50' MD "H D A BY EDWARD M. PobT W WAA Patented Jan. 26, 1954 PAPER MACHINERY Howard D. Hyman, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and Edward M. Root, Decatur, Ga., assignors to The Black- Clawson Company, Hamilton, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application September 13, 1951, Serial N 0. 246,412

8 Claims.

This invention relates to paper manufacture, and more particularly to apparatus for handling and reclaiming the damaged paper sheets commonly known as broke when a break occurs in the newly formed paper web during op eration of the paper machine.

The invention is applicable to substantially all ypes of paper forming machines, including board machines, pulp dryers, pulp forming machines and wallboard forming machines. It has special utility for handling and reclaiming broke of relatively substantial weight and strength such for example as paper board or heavyweight kraft paper, which is relatively tough and difiicult to handle in sheets of the substantial width commonly produced on high speed paper machines, and which constitutes a major disposal problem when a break occurs in the Web on a machine operating at the speeds of many hundred feet per minute which are relatively common in present day paper manufacture. Probably the most desirable method of handling th broke is to convey it as rapidly as possible to a beater or other pulping apparatus for reconversion to pulp form, preferably by providing the pulping apparatus at a position conveniently close to locations where broke is likely to accumulate and by feeding the broke thereto as fast as it comes from the machine. However, while this is comparatively easy to accomplish with newsprint and like relatively lightweight sheets, tough sheets of the above type are more difiicult to handle, since they are relatively resistant to the action of a pulping impeller and tend to accumulate in piles or balls rather than to break up as desired for pulping.

The present invention is particularly concerned with the handling of broke from paper or board forming machines producing heav or tough paper or paper board as described above, and one of the principal objects of the invention is to provide apparatus for use in combination with such pulping machines and a pulping apparatus which can be installed at a location on the machine Where broke is likely to accumulate and which will slit the relatively wide newly formed web into a plurality of narrow webs and will simultaneously convey these narrow webs to the pulping apparatus for efficient pulping.

In a typical application of the invention, the pulping apparatus may be installed just below a location on the machine where broke of the maximum width and toughness may be expected to accumulate, such as the position between the last drier drum and the calender stack, and a chute of convenient size and shape is mounted tq ex;-

tend upwardly through the slot from the pulping apparatus in position to receive broke as it is fed from either or both the drier and calendering stack. Within and near the top of the chute there are located a plurality of high speed jet nozzles arranged at spaced positions horizontally of the chute to discharge towards the web of broke traveling downwardly in the chute, and these nozzles are connected with a high pressure source of water having a suitably located valve or other control, preferably of a type automatically responsive to a break in the web. Then when a break occurs in the web and broke starts to accumulate at both the drier and the calender stack, it will feed directly into the chute, and at the same time the nozzles are turned on to discharge streams of water against the sheet as it travels downwardly, slitting the sheet into cor respondingly narrow webs and simultaneously wetting these webs down into the pulper for pulping.

It is accordingly another object of the invention to provide simple and efiicient apparatus for handling and pulping broke from a paper machine which will convey the broke to a pulping apparatus as fast as it accumulates, which will slit a wide sheet of broke into narrow webs for more efficient and effective pulping of the broke, and which will also wet these traveling webs thoroughly in preparation for the pulping treatment thereon.

It is also an object of the invention to provide apparatus as outlined above for handling and pulping broke which is adapted for installation in convenient juxtaposition to a location on a paper machine where broke tends to accumulate in operation, which is simple to install as well as easy to maintain, and which will eiiectively handle and pulp even tough and heavyweight sheets of kraft and paper board with the same facility as lightweight sheets.

A further object is to provide apparatus for the above purpose in which a plurality of jet nozzles are arranged in conjunction with a chute for conveying broke to a pulper to slit the wide web of broke into a plurality of narrow webs for delivery to th pulper, and also to provide such apparatus in which the jet nozzles may be moved transversely of the direction of the web travel to sever the Web when desired to facilitate resumption of production on the paper machine.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawing and the appended claims. 1:.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic and fragmentary view showing a portion of the paper machine equipped with apparatus in accordance with the invention for handling and pulping the broke accumulating between the last drier drum and the calender stack;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in perspective of the fragment of the chute for conveying the broke to the pulping apparatus and one of its associated jet nozzles for slitting the broke;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 which also illustrates a drive for moving the jet nozzles laterally to sever the web of broke; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a somewhat difierent structure of the chute.

In the drawing, which illustrates preferred embodiments of the present invention, Fig. 1 shows fragmentarily the last of the series of the drier drums for the web l produced on a paper machine such as a conventional Fourdrinier or cylinder machines, the last of the series of drums being identified as H, and the calender stack of the paper machine is shown fragmentarily at it spaced from the drier drum ll. Below the floor I l between the drier and calender stack is a pulping apparatus, which may be of any suitable type and is shown as a pulper of the type disclosed in Martindale Patent 2,371,837, issued March 20, 1945, to the assignee of this application. As there described, this pulper includes a generally cylindrical tub 15 having a rotatable pulping impeller arranged adjacent the bottom thereof which operates in use to cause the stock in the tub to circulate outwardly along the outer portions of the tub with a return down flow towards the impeller providing a central vortex.

An opening 20 is provided in the floor adjacent the drier drum l I and is surrounded by a railing or wall 2| for guiding the web downwardly therethrough from the driers, and another opening 22 is provided in the floor below the calender stack for receiving broke therefrom. An annular chute 25 extends upwardly from the tub l and surrounds these openings to receive and guide the broke downwardly into the tub for pulping, the chute 25 being generally circular at its lower end but flattening out at opposite sides adjacent the openings 26 and 22 to receive the fiat web from the drier and calender stack in the event that a break occurs in the web necessitating disposal of the brolce before the machine can be rethreaded to resume web formation.

It has been found with an installation of this character in conjunction with a paper machine producing a heavy or tough sheet as discussed above, that if the broke is fed into the pulper tub in a single continuous web of substantial width, e. g. 200 inches, it tends to ball up in the middle of the tube instead of being properly drawn into the circulating vortex of stock for the desired pulping action. However, if the web is slit lengthwise into comparatively narrow widths, these narrow webs may be fed into the tub at machine speed without this difficulty, and the broke is smoothly and evenly drawn into the circulating stock in the tub for pulping. This desired result is obtained in accordance with the invention by the provision of a plurality of high speed jet nozzles 30 located near the upper end of the chute 25 and adapted to discharge a high pressure stream of water against the downwardly traveling web or webs of broke to slit them into a corresponding plurality of narrow webfi As shown in Fig. 1, the nozzles 30 are carried at each side of the web by a header pipe 31. 32 connected with a supply pipe 33 from a suitable high pressure pump 35. Satisfactory results have been obtained with the nozzles 33 spaced about 3 to 4 feet apart and approximately 6 inches from the adjacent wall of the chute, and with the pump 35 being a high pressure plunger pump delivering 30 gallons of water per minute at 1200 pounds pressure with a power input of 25 horsepower, although other types of pump capable of delivering corresponding pressure and volume are equally suitable. Separate valves are preferably provided between each of the header pipes 3i and 32 and the supply pipe 33 for controlling the flow of water thereto as desired, and while it may be satisfactory to employ a valve 36 operated by a foot treadle as shown in Fig. l and connected with the header pipe by a flexible hose 31, it will usually be more desirable to operate the valve automatically upon a break in the web. For example both valves 36 may be operated as indicated diagrammatically by means of a web break detector 40 of any suitable type such as a web break switch riding on the sheet or a photoelectric cell for detecting a break in the sheet. thus assuring that the jets will be turned on substantially instantly with the occurrence of a break in the sheet.

It is also desirable to provide for the addition of water to the pulper in proper volume and rate for the broke supplied thereto. For example, a valve H may be installed in a water supply line 42 to the pulper, and this valve may be connected as indicated with the break detector 40 for automatic opening when a break occurs, so that dilution water will be supplied to the pulper tub so long as broke is passing into the tub. Preferably this valve is manually adjustable as shown for presetting to give the proper rate of flow correlated with the production rate of the paper machine to dilute the pulped broke to whatever percentage consistency is desired by the particular mill.

In order to facilitate the cutting action of the jet nozzles 30, the chute 25 is formed with a relieved portion opposite each nozzle. and Figs. 1 and 2 show this relieved portion as provided by a shallow trough 44 extending laterally of the chute and having spaced bars 45 extending across the top thereof intermediate the nozzles for supporting the paper crossing the trough. For example, satisfactory results have been obtained with the trough 44 approximately 3 inches in depth and with the bars &5 approximately 6 inches apart to support the major portion of the sheet but with adjacent bars spaced on either side of each nozzle to have the sheet unsupported in the portion thereof receiving the jet in order to facilitate complete slitting of even relatively heavy board or paper, as indicated at 46. The water passing through the sheet into the trough 40 flows on downwardly with the resulting narrow webs into the pulper tub to supply additional water for pulping, and it has also been found desirable to mount a header pipe 41 with spray nozzles 48 thereon at the upper end of the chute adjacent openings 20 and 22 to provide spray showers for wetting the surface of the chute to aid the downward travel of the paper as well as to aid in wetting the paper before it reaches the pulper tub.

Fig. 3 illustrates a mounting arrangement for the header pipes by which the pipe may be oscillated to move the nozzles 30 thereon transversely of the direction of travel of the broke web ID to sever the web preparatory to resumption of production of the paper machine. As shown, the header pipe Si may be supported by a plurality of pairs of grooved guide rollers 55, which may be readily mounted on the underside of the floor [4, and an operating mechanism is provided such as a hydraulic cylinder 5i having its piston 52 connected at 53 to the header end of the pipe. A control valve 55 of conventional construction is provided for admitting water or other pressure fluid alternatively to either end of cylinder 5! while connecting the other end to drain in order to move the piston 52 back and forth with resulting lateral movement of the header pipe and nozzles. The flexible hose connection 31 between the valve 35 and the header pipe facilitates this operating movement of the pipe.

With the apparatus constructed as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, during normal operation of the paper machine the nozzles 39 are not used, but the pulper will normally be maintained in operation in readiness for handling broke and also to effect continuous pulping of miscellaneous trimmings and the like such as the trim removed from g the ends of the broke web through the openings 28 or 22 as the case may be, and simultaneously open the valve or valves 36 as required to supply water under high pressure to the nozzles 35. Thus as broke comes from the drier or calender stack, it is passed directly into pulper It at the machine speed and is simultaneously slit into a plurality of narrow widths for efiective pulping. As soon as the condition causing the break has been corrected and production is to be resumed, the web passing down the chute is severed, as by oscillating the header pipe SI as shown in Fig. 3 to draw the jets across the web, after which the machine may be threaded in the usual ianner.

Fig. 4 illustrates a modified construction of chute 60 which is similar to the chute 25 except that in place of a single trough and bars as shown at Bil and ll, the chute 8G is formed with individual trough portions ill arranged opposite each of the jet nozzles 3t. Thus the surface of the chute between these trough portions supports the sheet while the unsupported portion closing the troughs receives the jet from the nozzles for ready slitting as indicated at 62. In other respects this construction is similar to the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and provides .similar advantages in operation.

While the forms of apparatus herein described constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise forms of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for use in handling and pulping a web of relatively wide and tough broke from a paper machine in combination with pulping apparatus, comprising means supporting said pulping apparatus adjacent a location on said paper machine where such web of broke is adapted to accumulate, guide means positioned to receive said web of broke accumulating in said location and to transmit said web continuously to said pulping apparatus, a plurality of jet nozzles supported between said location and said pulping apparatus in position to discharge towards said web traveling in said guide means, said nozzles being spaced laterally with respect to the direction of travel of said wide web, and means for supplying Water under high pressure to said nozzles for discharge therethrough against said wide web with sufiicient mass and velocity to slit the same generally lengthwise thereof into a plurality of relatively narrow webs in advance of the delivery thereof to said pulping apparatus.

2. Apparatus for use in handling and pulping a web of relatively wide and tough broke from a paper machine in combination with pulping apparatus, comprising means supporting said pulping apparatus below a location on said paper machine where broke is adapted to accumulate, means forming a chute positioned to receive said web of broke accumulating in said location and to transmit said web continuously to said pulping apparatus, a plurality of jet nozzles supported adjacent the upper end of said chute in horizontally spaced relation for discharge towards said chute, means for directing said wide web of said broke between said nozzles and the adjacent wall of said chute, and means for supplying water under high pressure to said nozzles for discharge against said wide web with suiiicient mass and velocity to slit the same generally lengthwise thereof into a plurality of relatively narrow webs and simultaneously to facilitate downward travel of said narrow Webs to said pulping apparatus.

3. Apparatus for use in handling and pulping a web of relatively wide and tough broke from a paper machine in combination with pulping apparatus, comprising means supporting said pulping apparatus below a location on said paper machine where such web of broke is adapted to accumulate, means forming a chute positioned to receive said web of broke accumulating in said location and to transmit said web continuously to said pulping apparatus, a plurality of jet nozzles supported adjacent the upper end of said chute in horizontally spaced relation for discharge towards said chute, means for directing said wide web of said broke between said nozzles and the adjacent wall of said chute, means for supplying water under high pressure to said nozzles for discharge against said wide web with sufficient mass and velocity to slit the same generally lengthwise thereof into a plurality of relatively narrow webs and simultaneously to facilitate downward travel of said narrow webs to said pulping apparatus, and means for moving said nozzles transversely of the direction of travel of said broke web in said chute to sever said web.

4. Apparatus for use in handling and pulping a web of relatively wide and tough broke from a paper machine in combination with pulping apparatus, comprising means supporting said pulping apparatus below a location on said paper machine where such web of broke is adapted to accumulate, means forming a chute positioned to receive said web of broke accumulating in said location and to transmit said web continuously to said pulping apparatus, a plurality of jet nozzle supported adjacent the upper end of said chute in horizontally spaced relation for discharge towards said chute, means for directing said wide web of broke between said nozzles and the adjacent wall of said chute, means for supplying water under high pressure to said nozzles for discharge against said wide web of suflicient mass and velocity to slit the same generally lengthwise thereof into a plurality of relatively narrow webs and simultaneously to facilitate downward travel of said narrow webs to said pulping apparatus, and said chute having a relieved portion therein opposite each said nozzle to provide an unsupported portion of said web opposite each said nozzle for receiving the discharge therefrom.

5. Apparatus for use in handling and pulping a web of relatively wide and tough broke from a paper machine in combination with pulping apparatus, comprising means forming an opening in the supporting floor for said machine below a location thereon where such web of broke is adapted to accumulate, means supporting said pulping apparatus below said opening, a chute surrounding said opening and extending downwardly therefrom to said pulping apparatus, a plurality of jet nozzles supported adjacent the upper end of said chute in horizontally spaced relation for discharge toward said chute, means for directing said wide web of broke between said nozzles and the adjacent wall of said chute, and means for supplying water under high pressure to said nozzles for discharge against said wide web with sufficient mass and velocity to slit the same generally lengthwise thereof into a plurality of relatively narrow webs and simultaneously to facilitate downward travel of said narrow webs to said pulping apparatus.

6. Apparatus for handling a web of relatively wide and tough broke from a paper making machine comprising guide means for receiving and directing the web of broke paper along a path of travel different from the path followed thereby during normal operation of said machine, means operable during the travel of said web over said guide means for projecting a plurality of laterally spaced jets of fluid having sufilcient mass and velocity to effect slitting of said web generally lengthwise into a plurality of narrower webs for subsequent reworking, control means for said jet projecting means, and means responsive to a break in said web while said web is following said normal path thereof for actuating said control means to initiate the projection of said jets substantially immediately upon a break in said web.

7. Apparatus for use in combination with pulping apparatus in handling and pulping a web of relatively wide and tough broke from a paper machine upon a break in the paper web while following the normal course of travel thereof, comprising means supporting said pulping apparatus below a location on said paper machine where such web of broke is adapted to accumulate, guide means positioned to receive said web of broke accumulating in said location and to transmit said web continuously to said pulping apparatus, means supported between said location and said pulping apparatus for slitting said broke web generally lengthwise thereof into a plurality of relatively narrow webs for delivery to said pulping apparatus, means for supplying water to said pulping apparatus to dilute said broke, and means responsive to a break in said web while said web is following said normal course thereof for operating said water supplying means to cause said dilution water to be supplied to said pulping apparatus substantially simultaneously with said broke.

8. Apparatus for use in combination with pulping apparatus in handling and pulping a web of relatively wide and tough broke from a paper machine upon a break in the paper web while following the normal course of travel thereof, comprising means supporting said pulping apparatus adjacent a location on said paper machine where such web of broke is adapted to accumulate, guide means positioned to receive said web of broke accumulating in said location and to transmit said web continuously to said pulping apparatus, a plurality of jet nozzle supported between said location and said pulping apparatus in position to discharge towards said broke web traveling in said guide means, said nozzles being spaced laterally with respect to the direction of travel of said broke web in said guide means, means for supplying water under high pressure to said nozzles for discharge therethrough against said wide Web of broke to slit the same generally lengthwise thereof into a plurality of relatively narrow webs for delivery to said pulping apparatus, means for supplying water to said pulping apparatus to dilute said broke therein, and means responsive to a break in said web while said web is following said normal course thereof for actuating both said water supplying means to initiate the supply of water to said jet nozzles and to said pulping apparatus substantially immediately upon a break in said web.

HOWARD D. HYMAN. EDWARD M. ROOT.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,662,200 Merrill Mar. 13, 1928 1,838,603 Witham Dec. 29, 1931 1,945,118 McVicker Jan. 30, 1934 1,960,106 Grewin May 22, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 365,184 Great Britain Jan. 18, 1932 

